thebigfatnoodle

fresh fruit doesn’t have to be boring #3: poached pears in jasmine tea

Posted by thebigfatnoodle on September 7, 2011 · 3 Comments 

Still steaming gently after I lift them from the tea liquor

I’ve wanted to try poaching pears in tea for quite some time now as I’m a big fan of tea. I love the stuff, and where tea’s concerned, the stronger the cup, the better. There’s nothing like a proper mug of builder’s tea to get you going in the morning.

I originally wanted to try poaching pears in green tea but I wasn’t able to get hold of any macha green tea powder in time (it should be delivered by post sometime this week!) so I decided to try this recipe using jasmine tea.

I brew then remove the tea leaves before making tea syrup. I find it too bitter if you poach the pears with the tea leaves.

Every time I visit my parents in Singapore, which is normally about once a year, my dad or mum normally gives me a box of tea leaves which they’ll have picked up during one of their regular trips to China. I love my Chinese teas but for whatever reason, I don’t actually drink it very often so this recipe is a great way of making sure their gifts of tea don’t go to waste.

Anyway, if you love tea, then you’ll hopefully love this recipe. I found a similar recipe online which uses oolong (gunpowder) tea and in my mind, if you can’t get hold of such tea leaves, I really don’t see any reason why this recipe wouldn’t work using 2-3 yorkshire or PG tea bags either.

The syrup for this poached pear is just your reduced sugared tea and if you’re a tea lover like me, there’s nothing like the lingering tang of tea on your tastebuds – sweet!

Hope you like the recipe.

Adding rock sugar to your brew after you've strained and removed the tea leaves

Poached pears in jasmine tea

¼ cup jasmine tea leaves

1.5 litres boiling water

100 grams rock sugar

3-4 slices of fresh ginger

3-4 pears, peeled, halved and cored (choose firm pears that ideally aren’t too ripe yet)

Put your tea leaves into a kettle or large bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Allow the tea to brew for about 3-5 minutes. Strain the tea into a saucepan over a medium heat, add your fresh ginger slices and the rock sugar. Retain just a teaspoon of the leaves in a dish and throw the rest away.

Pears poaching gently in tea and ginger

When the rock sugar has dissolved, put your pears into the liquid and turn it to a gentle simmer. Poach your pears for about 20-30 minutes.

When your pears are cooked through, lift them out with a slotted spoon and place to one side. Remove the ginger slices too.

Turn the heat up on your poaching tea liquid and boil briskly. It takes about 20-30minutes to reduce the liquid by half, leaving you with a nice tea syrup.

Scatter some of the tea leaves over the top and around your plate

When you’re ready to serve the pears, scatter some of the tea leaves on the pears or around your plate, and pour 1-2 tablespoons of your reduced tea syrup over the pears. (You may need to re-heat the pears by zapping them in the microwave for 30 seconds just to warm them up again).

I like serving them as they are but you could serve it with a small ball of plain vanilla or coconut ice cream, or a tiny drizzle of coconut cream.

Poached pears in jasmine tea

Lots of love

thebigfatnoodle